Conversations about you
by MrsChaucersSquire
Summary: Short conversations Gibbs and Tony have had about each other but not with each other. Warning: These are random conversations from different seasons so the timeline jumps around. Father/son theme.
1. Chapter 1

"I am not taking Dinozzo to pick up the suspect in Canada. There is no way I am spending that many hours in the car with him." Gibbs exclaimed to Ducky.

"Better you than McGee or Kate. He would torture them." Ducky responded while leaning over an autopsy.

"He is going to torture me. He won't sit still; he will screw with the radio, slurp a shake and complain that he is hungry the entire way there."

"You still haven't figured out how to calm him down." Ducky said smiling at Gibbs exasperation.

"There is no way to calm him down Duck." Gibbs stated definitely.

"Not true, Jethro, Not true."

Jethro raised his eyebrows at the comment.

"Planning on sharing?" He asked.

"I rather think it would be a good idea if you would figure it out." Ducky responded.

"And I might think it would be a good idea if I send you to Canada to get the suspect with Tony."

"Jethro," Ducky replied calmly. "I am far too old for threats to bother me."

"Do bribes work?" Gibbs questioned.

"Just touch him."

"What?" Gibbs questioned a bit astounded.

"Put your hand on the boy anywhere and he calms down immediately. Why do you think I touch him on the shoulder when we talk? He listens much more attentively and doesn't say a word. I think he is so shocked he can't speak."

"That is the secret?" Gibbs asked stunned.

"Just try it and find out." Ducky replied.

"I will." Gibbs confirmed with doubt in his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

"He's been following me around since he got off that damn boat." Leroy Jethro Gibbs complained to Ducky while following him around autopsy.

"Do you know why he is following you?"

"He keeps saying he missed me. I know he missed me, I missed him too but I don't spend all my time chasing him to remind him of that fact."

"Are you glad he's back?" Ducky questioned.

"Of course I'm glad he's back. I just … I know he missed me Duck, but I don't know why he keeps telling me he missed me."

"Maybe he is just looking for a little reciprocation, Jethro."

"He knows I missed him."

"Have you said it?"

Gibbs glared back in response to the question.

"Have a little sympathy, I would venture a guess he was very lonely when at sea. Maybe you should tell the boy how you feel. He is probably just looking for a little reassurance." before Gibbs was able to interject Ducky continued. "I know you think he knows you care about him...What I mean to say is, if you just tell him how you feel I think your little shadow will relax a little."

"What the heck am I supposed to say?" He continued finishing his own question. "I missed you too, Tony." he retorted sarcastically.

"That would be a good start."

"Oh, and I suppose you want me to tell him_ 'I think of you like a son' _and other sappy crap like that."

"Is it true?"

"I'd sound like an idiot and he would probably be embarrassed. Telling him how I feel would make things more uncomfortable not less."

"Maybe you should ask Tony if that would make him more uncomfortable." Ducky said nodding at a position behind Gibbs back. Gibbs swiftly turned around to find DiNozzo behind him standing in the autopsy doorway.

"Hi boss," Tony said with a shy smile.


	3. Chapter 3

"Is this really Gibbs?" Tony questioned holding the picture out to show Jackson Gibbs.

"Yeah, that is Jethro on his ninth birthday. We had just gotten a camera and his mom went crazy taking pictures."

"He got a puppy? That is so cool."

"It was his mom's idea. He didn't have a lot of friends and he keep to himself. She figured a dog would be good for him."

"I love it when he smiles like that." Tony commented as he showed Jackson another photo. "He looks really happy."

"He was." Jackson replied.

"When did it change? I mean when did he stop being so happy."

"I'm not sure really. The first time was when his Mom died. He was so angry with everyone. He was really angry at me. Then he met Shannon and I saw the light come back on inside of him. The day that Kelly was born was one of the happiest moments in his life. When they died and I saw all the anger and angst come back. His smile was gone, again."

"And you haven't seen it again since they died."

"Not true, Tony" Jackson answered. "I've seen him smile---when he talks about Abby… and about you."


	4. Chapter 4

"By the way, this is a nice restaurant for a date, Tony. Good pick, I am impressed."

"Well Tiffany, that is because I am impressed with you." Tony commented leering at his sensuously clad date. "Besides, I like the food here and the atmosphere is great. Gibbs suggested it."

"Gibbs?"

"Yeah his second wife loved this place."

"He's been married…twice?" She questioned.

"Four times."

"Boy, you know a lot about your boss. I can't believe anyone would marry that guy. He is a real jerk when he needs something from our department."

"Hey, he's not so bad when you get to know him." Tony defended.

She raised her eyebrows to disagree with his statement.

"He is just tough because solving cases is important to him. Your department isn't that fast and he is an impatient guy when lives might be on the line."

"Is impatience why he is always smacking you?" she questioned as she ran her finger along the top of her whine glass. She ignored the comment about her department's speed. Office politics had no place in dinner conversation even if you were dating a guy from the office. Nevertheless, she had to know why Tony let Gibbs smack him if she was going to date him.

"It's just his way of keeping me on task."

"I would quit in a second flat if my boss hit me."

"It's different. You don't know him and Gibbs is not who you think he is." This date was not going in the direction Tony had hoped.

"And you know who he is." She replied flippantly.

"Yeah I do." His anger flared with her comment. Gibbs was important and Tony wasn't going to let his date disrespect his boss. "Let me tell you about Gibbs. He is more committed to his team than most men are to their families. He has taught me more than my father ever did. He has honor. He is there for me and my team whenever something goes wrong or right and he is the **longest** relationship I have ever had. He sticks up for me and yes, I know him. I know him better than you know your father."

"Gess, you're a little touchy about your boss aren't you." She laughed to cover up the sour mood that permeated the area.

"You know, I don't think this relationship is going to work." Tony replied to her comment. He stood and dropped enough money on the table to cover the cost of their meals. "See you around the office, Tiffany."


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs phone buzzed and he picked it up to sound of a familiar voice. "You left your sidekick in charge?"

"Fornell"

"What are you doing Gibbs?"

"Confidential" Gibbs replied.

"So while your agency has you on a confidential assignment you leave DiNutso in charge."

"You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah, we landed a joint case and DiNuto is trying to take charge. You better call you boy and tell him to back down."

"Not going to happen. If DiNozzo thinks the case is NCIS jurisdiction than he is probably right. You better back down Fornell."

"No way in hell Jethro. Don't you want to know what the case is?"

"Nope. I left my sidekick in charge. He'll tell me when I get back."

"I'm not letting him have the case Gibbs."

"You don't need to. He is going to win it from you. Don't forget that I trained the kid."

"I haven't forgotten. He is making my life hell just like you would."

"Good boy. I'll praise him when I get back."

"I'm giving you one more chance to save him Gibbs. Call him off or I am going to get nasty."

"Nope. I've got full confidence in DiNozzo. He could solve a case in his sleep faster than a team of your guys working 24-7. Fornell, for the sake of this case you better let him take it."

"Not a chance. He's in for a fight." Fornell said as he hung up the phone.

"And he is going to win." Gibbs replied to the dial tone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hi Dr. Shrink." Tony greeted cheerfully as he entered the office.

"Hello again, Mr. DiNozzo, and it's Dr. Anderson. I am sure you know that by now. You have had more mandatory meetings with a psychiatrist than anyone else in your department."

"Well it's not my fault bad guys keep getting in my way and I have to shoot them. And what about Gibbs."

"What about Gibbs?" Dr. Anderson replied. Sometimes Tony switch topics so fast the Doctor missed his train of thought.

"How does he get out of these sessions so often? He should have had more meetings than me." Tony asked.

"Grandfather law. When he started working here we were NIS not NCIS and an agent only had to have a meeting with the psychiatrist if he killed someone. The new rules say anytime you shoot at someone you are required to meet with a psychiatrist. The director could probably fight him on policy but …"

"But it's Gibbs"

"Yeah" The doctor admitted.

"So what do you want to hear this time Doctor? How guilty and sad I feel that I had to shoot at a jerk who had raped three women and was attempted to abduct a forth." Tony explained.

"You know Tony, you have been here so many times it is probably a waste of time for us to talk about the same things we talk about every time."

"I agree Doc. So does that me I can just play hooky?"

"No way. I would get in a ton of trouble if I let you out of here early."

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"How about I get to know you better? Close your eye."

"Whow Doc. I don't think I want to get to know you that well."

"Tony." the doctor replied unhappily.

"Fine. Eye's closed. Now what?"

"Imagine the greatest life you can imagine for yourself. You get everything you want. Anything you could think of. You could be rich, married have kids. The only limit is that it has to be possible, nothing sci-fi."

Tony opened his moth the reply but the doctor cut him off.

"And Tony, it can not be in a movie. You have to describe it to me."

"Come on Doc. Movies are my dream life."

"Well then dream something else."

"Okay."

"First, are you married and if so to whom?"

"I'm married to a beautiful foreign girl. She's a sexy ninja too. And her accent is so alluring every guy that meets her is intimidated. "

"Any kids?"

"Not yet. We are thinking about it."

"Where do you live?"

"Nice family neighborhood where the neighbors are friendly and there is a lot of shrubbery and crap. And…" Tony paused for a second unsure if he should continue. The truth was he had imagined this all long before the psychiatrist had asked him to. "And my parents lives next door to us."

"Your parents?" The psychiatrist asked, unable to get the surprise out of his voice. He knew very little about Tony's childhood, but from what he knew Tony's mother had passed away years ago and Tony never wanted to see his father again.

"Not my real parents. This is my imaginary life so I get an imaginary father and mother." DiNozzo explained.

"Okay, tell me about your imaginary parents."

"My mom is sweet, but cool. She is always doing crazy fun stuff. She scares some people when they first meet her, but than when they know her they can't help but love her. My dad loves her. He would do anything for her."

"What about you? Would your parent's do anything for you? Would they give you whatever you wanted?"

"Mom would give me anything but Dad wouldn't. Dad would make me toe the line. He would push me. He holds me accountable. He's kinda a hard ass but he has a sweet spot for his family. He would do anything for them. He also loves to teach me stuff. He comes over to my place and shows me how to fix everything. He teaches me how to get along with my wife, and he makes me do what is best. He doesn't let me whine, because he is teaching me how to be a real man."

"What is a real man, Tony?"

"You know Doc, A real man."

"Tony, you have to tell me in words."

"A real man takes care of his family; sticks up for his kids. A real man has a code of ethics and does the right thing. He never leaves a man behind. A real man doesn't constantly get distracted by every pretty face that walks by and doesn't screw around when there is a job to be done. My dad would teach me that kind of stuff. And when I learned he would smile at me, or he would say 'atta boy' or he would tell me I was irreplaceable."

"Wow Tony, you have quite the imagination. Maybe Megee isn't the only one on your team that should write books."

"Oh come on Doc, my book would be ten times better than MeGee's. Plus, mine would be more original because I wouldn't base my characters on anyone I know." Tony concluded with a smile.

"So you would not be rich in your dream life?" The psychiatrist asked.

"I wouldn't have a lot of money if that is what you are talking about. If I had a house and a nice car that would be enough. But Doctor I **would** be rich. I would be rich because of all the people around me that cared. That is the real richness. Money can not buy you happiness. If anyone knows that I do."


	7. Chapter 7

"Gibbs said you have to stay here, Tony." Abby ordered from her mass spec without turning around.. Because the lab was quiet, she had heard his lame attempt to sneak out of her lab.

"I can't just sit around Abby. We have a case to solve. I need to be working." He explained.

"You need to be sleeping. You were in the hospital a week ago."

"I'm fine. The doctors cleared me."

"For now. Gibbs says you have been reckless. He told me you have not been taking care of your self."

"Gibbs is nosey."

"Gibbs is worried about you. That is why he is making you stay down here. He wants you to rest so you can get better."

"I can take care of myself. I haven't needed anyone to take care of me for a good thirty years. He should keep out of it." He said out of frustration.

The comment made Abby angry. Tony had not been taking care of himself and she was worried for his safety. As a woman wise beyond her years, Abby knew why he wasn't taking care of himself. Quickly, she turned an approached her friend.

"Number One," Abby said with voice raised and finger in Tony's chest. "You obviously don't know how to take care of yourself. You are going to make yourself sick again if you don't slow down."

"Number Two, "She continued even louder. "You shouldn't have been expected to take care of yourself when you were a kid. Your parents were wrong." Abby exclaimed continuing to push the much larger man with her attitude and her pointer finger.

"Number Three," She intentionally back Tony up until he fell seated into the futon. Standing above the now sitting agent she shouted. "Don't disrespect the Bossman. He knows what is best for you. He cares about you and he is taking care of you now."

She stopped her tirade and watched quietly as Tony contemplated the statements. Silently, Tony stared at his lap. When the silence stretched on for multiple minutes, she began to worry. She slowly sat next to Tony and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. She held him in a half hug.

"You are right Abby. I just don't know how to deal with it. I don't know how to handle him taking care of me. I like it but at the same time it frustrates me." He sighed obviously confused.

Leaning closer to Tony's ear, she replied in a whisper. "That's the point, Tony. You don't have to know how to handle it. Gibbs is taking care of you, Gibbs will handle it. You just have to let him."

He sighed, and then turned to snuggle into Abby. She leaned back into the corner of the futon and wrapped her arms the rest of the way around her frustrated friend.

"You are right. But it is hard. I don't know how." He responded.

"Just do what he says. And right now the Boss says sleep and get better. Can you do that?"

"Yeah I can." He replied closing his eyes and slowing his breathing.


	8. Chapter 8

"He's not perfect my boy" Ducky explained.

"I know, I just…" Tony complained.

"Want him to be." Ducky completed.

"Well, yeah, he's Gibbs."

"He is Gibbs, but he's not perfect. There comes a time in every person's life when they realize there idol is just as human as they are."

"He can't be." Tony whined.

"Why not?"

"He's Gibbs. If he's not perfect than…"

"Than what, Anthony? What is the problem?"

"Than he could fail! If he's not perfect, I could never be perfect! And if he's not perfect he could die!"

"Falsehood is easy, truth so difficult. George Eliot I do believe." Ducky quoted.

"I think I'd rather believe he was perfect." Tony sighed.


	9. Chapter 9

Set after the recent episode "Bounce" in which Tony gets to lead the case.

"What happened when I was in Mexico?"

"A lot happened." Ducky replied and than continued. "Can I assume you're not talking about the case that the team just re-solved?" he asked.

"I'm talking about how everyone assumed I was about to run off to Mexico when I put Tony in charge." The statement said very little. However, Ducky had years of experience at interpreting Gibbs statements. He knew how to translate the sentence into the thought behind it.

"Ah, and the members of your team were upset by the idea of you leaving and that's why you are wondering what happened while you were gone."

"I know Tony did a good job while I was gone. So why" Gibbs asked "is everyone so worried?"

"They missed you, Jethro. Is that really so surprising?"

"No, but that still doesn't explain why all of them look like they had just finished drinking Tabasco when they thought I was going. DiNozzo looked like he was going to be sick."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Ducky asked in astonishment.

Gibbs glared back, confirming that he didn't understand the team's reactions.

"I know you would give your life for each and everyone of them. I've heard you hand out affection just as often as you hand out instruction. You care a lot about them."

"Yeah?" Gibbs confirmed Ducky's statements while asking him to continue.

"Do you think that they care less for you than you do for them?" Ducky asked exasperated. He gave Gibbs a moment to ponder the statement before he continued.

Gibbs spent the minute mulling over Ducky's statement. He was surprised that he had never wondered just how much his team cared for him. Subconsciously, of course he knew, but strangely he had never wondered how much they cared about him. This brought him back to thoughts of leaving for Mexico. If his team really cared about him they would have wanted him to recover from his accident.

"I had to go Ducky. I had stuff to deal with. I'm not a super hero." He tried to explain.

"I know that Jethro, but we don't often think about what someone else is going through when that person hurts us."

"I hurt them?" Gibbs asked with sudden recognition that his time in Mexico had affected agents more than he realized.

"You abandoned them all. Now, they understand why. But, at the time, all of them felt rather deserted by the incident."

"I left Tony in charge. He was capable and ready to lead." Gibbs again defended.

"Jethro, they didn't just miss you because of your amazing case solving skills. They missed your presence. They all look up to you. You know that. And Tony, he missed you most of all. He may have been ready to lead, but he wasn't ready for you to go."

"He handled it."

"Yes he did. And he did a magnificent job. But it hurt him. After all, the first time his father abandoned him, all he had to take care of was himself." Ducky left the rest of the statement unsaid. Gibbs would fill in the blanks.

Gibbs realized quickly that his abandonment of the team had in many ways paralleled the abandonment of a young Tony by his father. However, when Gibbs ran off to Mexico, Tony had to deal with both the abandonment of Gibbs and taking care of the rest of the team. DiNozzo certainly was an amazing individual. Gibbs turned to leave, thinking that the conversation was over, but heard Ducky's voice as he headed for the door.

"Just remember Jethro, they care about you just as much as you care about them. They would give up there lives for you too."

Gibbs only grunted in response. One of them giving their life to save him was unquestionably his worst fear.


	10. Chapter 10

I apologize to anyone who doesn't like Hollis. But I need Gibbs to talk and I notice he did talk to her in the episode he came home with her after their date.

---------------------------------

"What's this, Jethro? Don't tell me you have a son you never told me about too?" Hollis question as she indicated the photo album she had pulled out of Gibbs fire proof box.

Actually she had found two photo albums. The first album had been full of pictures of Kelly. Almost every first the girl had was in the book, from her first steps to her first day of school. When Hollis had reached for the second album she had been expecting that she would find more of the same.

Instead she found pictures of a boy growing up. Maybe a nephew? was her first thought. But Jethro wasn't in any of the photos.

Gibbs walked over behind her and put his arms around her, smiling while looking at the pictures in the album. "DiNozzo" was his answer.

She glanced up at him startled. "Why do you have a photo album with pictures of DiNozzo as a kid?"

"Long story." Gibbs responded.

She gave him her best impression of the Gibbs glare and he responded appropriately.

"Which I am going to tell you over coffee." he said.

He sweetly took her hand and led her to the kitchen. As he started the coffee he began to explain.

"Not long after I came back from Mexico, I was showing DiNozzo some stuff in the fire proof box and he found my album with Kelly in it. He loved it. He told me he was really amazed I had kept that book of her as she grew up."

"Well, it was sweet, but not really amazing. Of course you have pictures of her, she was your daughter." She commented in response.

"He was amazed that I had kept the pictures of Kelly safe for all these years, even though she was gone. And he loved that I had them in a fire proof box. It was the exact opposite of his father." Gibbs responded uneasily. "His mother died when he was a kid and when his father disowned him at 12, the bastard got rid of every picture he had of Tony. He burned them in front of the kid."

Shock, Hollis could not respond. She was stunned into silence by the thought of a boy watching all the pictures of himself reduced to ashes. How could Tony's father be so evil? Why would he have burned all the photos of Tony? She could tell from the photo's she was looking at that Tony had been a bit of a trouble maker, but she could also tell the boy had been a sweet kid. Suddenly, she wondered where the photos she was looking at had come from.

"So how did you get these?" She said indicating the album in her hand.

Gibbs turned to fill there coffee cups and shrugged as he continued. "Abby and I went on a mission. We found his old nanny, she had some photos. Then, we contacted some of his mother's relatives in England. They had a few more. Abby made some on the computer and I got a hold of his old coaches at the boarding school he went to. We made this for Tony." He said indicating the book.

"So have you shown it to him?"

"I tried to give it to him for his last birthday." Gibbs paused wondering how to explain. "He was really excited." Gibbs smiled at the memory. "But then the photos reminded him that his Dad had burned his."

"I can't believe his father did that. If he were here I'd…." She trailed off unable to decide what she would do to the man.

Gibbs sighed. He also wished he could do something to punish the man who had treated his senior field agent so badly. Tony didn't deserve the childhood he had. He gently took the album from his date, flipping through childhood photos of Tony. Sometimes he could almost see the youngster Tony had been. Hollis leaned over and lightly laughed at the picture of a smiling Tony in a swimsuit enjoying the beach.

"I can't believe DiNozzo didn't want to keep this. I know his father was a jerk, but this album is really special."

"It's not that he didn't want to keep it. He actually comes over and looks at it sometimes. He asked me to keep it in my fire proof box with Kelly's. He probably wanted to make sure that the photos never burned again." Gibbs explained.

"I think," Hollis commented with wisdom, "he want to make sure someone who cared would take care of the photos."

"Yeah," Gibbs agreed quietly lost in the pictures.


End file.
